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Creating internal projects to provide internships for the students is a change in the project scope that requires approval from the customer and other stakeholders. Therefore, the project manager should create a change request with the scope of the new internal projects and submit it to the Perform Integrated Change Control process1. The change request should include the rationale, benefits, risks, and impacts of the proposed change on the project objectives, deliverables, schedule, cost, quality, and resources. The project manager should also update the project management plan and other relevant documents to reflect the change in scope.

To plan and execute the new internal projects, the project manager should create a work breakdown structure (WBS) of the new scope with the internal projects2. A WBS is a hierarchical decomposition of the project scope into manageable deliverables and work packages. A WBS helps the project manager to define, organize, and monitor the project work, as well as to allocate resources, assign responsibilities, and estimate costs and durations. The project manager should involve the project team and the interns in creating the WBS to ensure their buy-in and commitment.

To ensure that the internal projects meet the customer’s expectations and the project’s quality standards, the project manager should manage the quality of the delivery3. Quality management involves planning, implementing, and controlling quality activities to ensure that the project deliverables conform to the requirements and specifications. The project manager should use quality tools and techniques, such as quality checklists, audits, inspections, testing, and reviews, to measure and improve the quality of the internal projects. The project manager should also document and communicate the quality results and feedback to the project team, the interns, the customer, and other stakeholders.

References:

• How To Successfully Perform Integrated Change Control
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in Project Management
• Quality Management - Project Management Institute

A hybrid approach is a combination of two or more project management methodologies, such as Waterfall and Agile, that aims to create a new and better model for a specific project123. A hybrid approach can be beneficial for projects that have high complexity, uncertainty, and changing requirements, as it allows for more flexibility, speed, and customer satisfaction. However, a hybrid approach also requires a high level of collaboration and communication among the project team members, as they need to adapt to different processes and practices depending on the project phase and situation. Therefore, a project manager who is experienced in agile should allocate time to mentor the team on how to work in a hybrid way, such as by explaining the benefits and challenges of the approach, providing guidance and feedback, facilitating team meetings and retrospectives, and resolving any conflicts or issues that may arise. This will help the team to develop the skills and mindset needed to work effectively and efficiently in a hybrid environment. References: 

 According to the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, one of the principles of project management is to focus on value. This means that the project manager should ensure that the project delivers the most valuable outcomes to the stakeholders, especially the customer. In an agile project, the sprint goal is a short-term objective that aligns with the customer’s needs and expectations. The sprint backlog is a list of tasks that the development team commits to complete within the sprint to achieve the sprint goal. If the developers want to deviate from the sprint backlog and work on something else, the project manager should remind them of the importance of focusing and meeting the sprint goal. The project manager should also facilitate a discussion with the product owner and the development team to clarify the priority and value of the tasks in the sprint backlog and the refactoring work. The project manager should help the team to balance the trade-offs between delivering the sprint goal and improving the quality of the product. References: PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, page 9 (Principles of Project Management); page 71 (Focus on Value); page 137 (Agile Project Delivery); page 139 (Sprint Goal and Sprint Backlog)

Servant leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on serving the needs and interests of the team members, rather than imposing authority or control over them. Servant leaders empower, coach, and facilitate their teams to achieve the project goals, while fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation. According to the Professional in Business Analysis Reference Materials1, servant leadership is one of the key competencies for project managers, especially in agile environments, where teams are expected to be self-organizing, adaptive, and customer-centric.

In this scenario, the project team evaluated the product’s feasibility of functionality and accelerated testing, which implies that they are following an agile approach to deliver the product incrementally and iteratively, based on customer feedback and value. A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of the product that has enough features to satisfy the customer’s needs and provide feedback for future development. Finding the MVP is a common practice in agile projects, as it helps to reduce waste, optimize resources, and validate assumptions.

Therefore, the best option for the project manager as a servant leader is to support the team as necessary to find the MVP. This means that the project manager should:

• Provide the team with the necessary tools, resources, and guidance to conduct the feasibility and testing activities.
• Remove any impediments or obstacles that might hinder the team’s progress or performance.
• Encourage the team to collaborate and communicate effectively with each other and with the customer.
• Facilitate the team’s learning and improvement through feedback, reflection, and experimentation.
• Recognize and appreciate the team’s efforts and achievements.

By supporting the team as necessary to find the MVP, the project manager can demonstrate servant leadership, and help the team to deliver a valuable and quality product to the customer, while meeting the project constraints and expectations.

The other options are not the best choices, because:

• Amend the project budget to include MVP testing: This option implies that the project manager is not following the approved schedule management plan, and is making changes to the project scope, cost, and baseline without proper justification or authorization. This could create confusion, conflict, or resistance among the project stakeholders, and jeopardize the project success. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not address the needs or interests of the team or the customer.
• Submit a change request to the project sponsor for accelerated testing: This option implies that the project manager is not following the agile principles and practices, and is relying on a formal and bureaucratic process to manage changes in the project. This could slow down the project delivery, reduce the team’s autonomy and flexibility, and undermine the customer’s satisfaction and trust. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not empower or facilitate the team to find the MVP.
• Develop the product as per the schedule to perform integration and testing: This option implies that the project manager is ignoring the team’s evaluation and feedback, and is sticking to a rigid and predetermined plan to deliver the product. This could result in a product that does not meet the customer’s needs or expectations, or that has unnecessary or unwanted features. Moreover, this option does not reflect servant leadership, as it does not support or involve the team in finding the MVP.

References:

• Servant Leadership in Project Management.